Let our mind go and your body will follow

Transcription

1 University of Iowa Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations Spring 2017 Let our mind go and your body will follow Hilary Nelson University of Iowa Copyright 2017 Hilary Nelson This thesis is available at Iowa Research Online: Recommended Citation Nelson, Hilary. "Let our mind go and your body will follow." MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Art Practice Commons

2 LET YOUR MIND GO AND YOUR BODY WILL FOLLOW by Hilary Nelson A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Art in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2017 Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Laurel Farrin

3 Copyright by HILARY NELSON 2017 All Rights Reserved

4 Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL MASTER S THESIS This is to certify that the Master s thesis of Hilary Nelson has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Art at the May 2017 graduation. Thesis Committee: Laurel Farrin, Thesis Supervisor Susan White David Ratcliff Andrew Casto Isabel Barbuzza

5 Home is where I want to be Pick me up and turn me round I feel numb, born with a weak heart I guess I must be having fun The less we say about it the better Make it up as we go along Feet on the ground Head in the sky It's ok I know nothing's wrong, nothing I got plenty of time You got light in your eyes And you're standing here beside me I love the passing of time Never for money Always for love Cover up and say goodnight, say goodnight Home, is where I want to be But I guess I'm already there I come home she lifted up her wings Guess that this must be the place I can't tell one from the other Did I find you, or you find me? There was a time, before we were born If someone asks, this is where I'll be, where I'll be We drift in and out Sing into my mouth Out of all those kinds of people You got a face with a view I'm just an animal looking for a home Share the same space for a minute or two And you love me till my heart stops Love me till I'm dead Eyes that light up, eyes look through you Cover up the blank spots Hit me on the head -Talking Heads, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) 1983 ii

6 PUBLIC ABSTRACT This is a body of work produced at the University of Iowa. With these pieces I am interested in things that do not follow, that hold emotion but don't have a narrative. In the unknown being more real than the known, because there is life in the not understanding. And in lying about something there is no way you can pull off. There is a river of lava flowing below the surface, but there are no volcanoes. iii

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures... v Artist Statement... 1 Let Your Mind Go And Your Body Will Follow... 2 iv

8 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Mud Hut and Palace Hot From Running Turn Over Your Extended Hands Palms Up Storage Sauna Cocoon F F (alternate view) Wholeness On The Move Wholeness On The Move (alternate view) Wholeness On The Move (detail) as as 2 (alternate view) as 2 (detail) Two Way Street and You Make It Happen Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (alternate view) Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (alternate view) Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (detail) Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (detail) GET IT OUT OF HERE GET IT OUT OF HERE (detail) Morning and Night Morning and Night (alternate view) Installation Shot Installation Shot Installation Shot Installation Shot v

9 27. Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album Vacation Album vi

10 ARTIST STATEMENT "Hey... life is pretty stupid; with lots of hubbub to keep you busy, but really not amounting to much. Of course I'm paraphrasing: Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Steve Martin and Shakespeare from Martin s 1991 movie L.A. Story. The work is built of stuff that probably used to be other stuff. Now it looks like it could be something you thought you knew, but you just aren t sure. The pieces are built in between the maker and the world, they are part of each and fight a concreteness of either. They stay fluid. These things have a utility to them; they point towards something outside of themselves. They are not the thing but they are related to the thing. I think about them like B-roll or like a score to a movie, where you listen and all the wonder and melodrama are halfway there. They are whole by bringing in outside noise. They leak of something; they fill you up but don t take you there. They will take you to the place between knowing and known. When I am working I am listening to the climate of the thing, and I hope I will bring in the storms. 1

11 LET YOUR MIND GO AND YOUR BODY WILL FOLLOW Mud Hut and Palace, spray foam, paper clay, wire, paper, bike light, 4 x 3 x 2,

12 Hot from Running, grass mat, ab cruncher, sawdust paste, plastic tubing, nylon string, 4 x 15 x 3.5,

13 Turn Over Your Extended Hands Palms Up, acrylic, paper clay, metal, zip ties, industrial bulk bag, 4 x 8 x 2,

14 Storage Sauna, shower door, aluminum conduit, sawdust paste, 5.5 x 2 x 3,

15 Cocoon, acrylic, plastic sheeting, spray foam, clay slip, fluorescent light cover, 2 x 4.5 x 9,

16 12F, cattails, plastic tubing, sawdust paste, handrail, zip ties, 6 x 3 x 4,

17 12F (alternate view), cattails, plastic tubing, sawdust paste, handrail, zip ties, 6 x 3 x 4,

18 Wholeness on The Move, acrylic, plastic mat, paper clay, keyboard stand, file holders, casters, 3.5 x 4 x 2,

19 Wholeness on The Move (alternate view), acrylic, plastic mat, paper clay, keyboard stand, file holders, casters, 3.5 x 4 x 2,

20 Wholeness on The Move (detail), acrylic, plastic mat, paper clay, keyboard stand, file holders, casters, 3.5 x 4 x 2,

21 1 as 2, street light, Mylar duct, canvas, clay soil, 1.5 x 5 x 3,

22 1 as 2 (alternate view), street light, Mylar duct, canvas, clay soil, 1.5 x 5 x 3,

23 1 as 2 (detail), street light, Mylar duct, canvas, clay soil, 1.5 x 5 x 3,

24 Two Way Street and You Make It Happen, spray packaging foam, hot glue sticks, sawdust, 6 x 10 x 3.5,

25 Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (alternate view), spray packaging foam, hot glue sticks, sawdust, 6 x 10 x 3.5,

26 Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (alternate view), spray packaging foam, hot glue sticks, sawdust, 6 x 10 x 3.5,

27 Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (detail), spray packaging foam, hot glue sticks, sawdust, 6 x 10 x 3.5,

28 Two Way Street and You Make It Happen (detail), spray packaging foam, hot glue sticks, sawdust, 6 x 10 x 3.5,

29 GET IT OUT OF HERE, ceramic, plastic sheeting, reinforced poly sheeting, keyboard stand, 11 x 4 x 3.5,

30 GET IT OUT OF HERE (detail), ceramic, plastic sheeting, reinforced poly sheeting, keyboard stand, 11 x 4 x 3.5,

31 Morning and Night, plexi skin sheets, pvc pipe, ceramic, metal pipe, electrical tape, 7 x 6 x 3.5,

32 Morning and Night (alternate view), plexi skin sheets, pvc pipe, ceramic, metal pipe, electrical tape, 7 x 6 x 3.5,

33 Installation Shot 24

34 Installation Shot 25

35 Installation Shot 26

36 Installation Shot 27

37 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

38 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

39 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

40 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

41 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

42 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

43 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

44 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

45 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,

46 Vacation Album, reinforced poly, pvc pipe, wooden dowel, zip ties, plexiglass, papery clay, spray foam, acrylic, lawn cart, dimensions variable,